Keys
by Birgit Riddle
Summary: Jonathan Crane has the key to get into the university chemistry lab so he can steal chemicals, but he has forgotten something. References to Batman Begins, but also uses elements from comic book Scarecrow.


The dead security guard's keys jangled as Jonathan inspected each one, looking for the key to Gotham University's chemistry lab. On an old table in front of him, to the side lay his hat and mask, both tattered and worn. Also on the table was a flickering candle, which cast very little light, but Jonathan was used to dim light and squinting through his glasses.

He sighed and looked at the lone candle, reminding him that he was on the last of his candles and that he had no more funds. Jonathan took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes, yawning as he did so. It was only an hour or so until dawn and Jonathan had been up all night, stalking the guard that he stole the keys from, but he could not remember what the key looked like and would not rest until he had done so.

His memory had been spotty ever since Batman ruined his life. Jonathan had noted in his experiments that one of the side effects of the fear "toxin" he had synthesized seemed to be a decrease in the efficiency of memory recall, but it never occurred to him that he would become a victim of it. Now he struggled to remember the identifying characteristics of the key, particularly the letters engraved on it. He hoped that they did not change it the years since he worked there, but who knew by which strange properties universities worked by, especially since they fired him.

Jonathan replaced his glasses and looked at the next key. It was plain enough looking, but the engraved letters on the head made it very special to Jonathan. GUCL3 stood for Gotham University Chemistry Laboratory three, the only lab at Gotham University that would have the chemicals he needed to continue his experiments. Only graduate students and professors had access to it and to the chemical closet that was only accessible through the lab itself. Jonathan grinned as he slipped the off the ring and looked at the key in the pre-dawn light that had filtered through the boarded up windows of the abandoned house.

Then it occurred to Jonathan that _he did not have the key to the closet._ He swore and put the rest of the keys aside along with his glasses before resting his head on his arms. Tired and frustrated, Jonathan found himself dozing off as he tried to think of an answer to his problem. Finally, he succumbed to sleep as the sun's first rays entered the room.

----

Jonathan made sure that the visor of his baseball cap was still down, hiding his face, before he slipped into the chemistry building several hours after the sun had set. He had taken care to look like a normal grad student despite it being years since he had been one. Normally he did not wear jeans or sneakers, but it was a necessary disguise; he could not risk anyone recognizing him either by his clothing or face.

He would've liked more time to work out his plan, but he needed to do this before it was discovered that the guard was dead. Of course, it would've been ideal to have done this _last_ night since they probably knew that he was at least missing by now. But Jonathan put such thoughts and fears aside for now and focused on the task before him: getting the key to the chemical closet.

Thankfully the building was deserted, but his plan depended on there being a faculty member or graduate student working late. As he made his way to the nearest stairwell, he berated himself mentally for forgetting about the key to the closet and making everything harder. He should've stolen both at the same time, but his mind still was muddled from time to time and so he made mistakes.

_Oh well_, he thought as he climbed the stairs to the third floor where the offices and lab would be located. Still he encountered no one on the stairs and when he looked out onto the hallway there was no sign of life except for a patch of light shining onto the floor from a still occupied office. As he watched, a woman in her twenties walked out of the door and down the hallway, away from Jonathan. He grinned at his good luck and quietly snuck to the office, hoping that she had left her keys on the desk.

When he entered the room, he scanned the room and spotted the keys on top of a pile of paper. Working quickly, Jonathan pulled the key he needed off the ring and slipped out of the room before the woman could return. He had to push down the urge to kill the woman, which bothered him because he had never had those urges that strongly prior to the whole Arkham incident. But this was a time for discretion, not madness and he snuck away from the office to wait for the woman to leave the building so he could steal the chemicals with no possible hindrance.


End file.
